Improvement in bee-hives



H. STUMP.. Bee Hive.

Patented Dec. 6. 1864.

N, PETERS, Phnm-mnagnprm. waihmgw", D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT EFICE.

HENRY STUMP,

oF AnEL,1owA.

IMPROVEMENT IN BEE-HIVES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 45,358, dated December 6, 1364.

To all whom it may concern y Be it known that I, HENRY S'rUMP, of Adel, in the county of Dallas and State of Iowa, have invented a new and Improved Bee-Hive; and I do hereby declare that the following is a t'ull, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part oi' this specitication, in which- Figure l is a side sectional elevation ol" my improvement. Figs. 2 and 3 are horizontal sectional views of the same.

Similar letters oi reference indicate like parts.

This hive is intended to be made in square or box form, ot' which A. indicates the sides, top, and bottom, and A the hinged back thereof.

The base of the hive is provided with a moth or miller drawer or trap, B, which will be readily understood without special description.

C C are the comb or brooding` boxes, or, as I term them, the homesteads.77 These boxes stand side by side within the hive A, resting upon the bottom ledges thereof', D, above the math trap, as shown.

At the front lower co1 ner ot' each of the boxes G there is an oritce, a, for the entrance ofthe bees, which communica-tes with the ori-` tice a through the hive A, upon the outside ot which is placed the alighting-board E. The orifices a are covered by a weather-hood, F, which is divided centrally by a pivoted guide board or tlap, Gr; but this tiap I do not claim as my invention.

Upon the front edge ot the hood F, I arrange a series ot' hinged entrance-guards, H, so arranged that they may all, or either ot' them, be thrown up, and leave the entrances tothe hive unobstructed; or the said guards may be turned down so as to contract the entrances. The lower edges of the guards H are provided with notches b, so that when turned diwn only the workingbees can gain access t) the hives,while the drone bees will be excluded. C C are stops to regulate the lateral swing of the iap G. i

Upon the adjoining` sides ot' each of the boxes U there is a slide, I I', which when removed uncovers a slot, d, in one box, and a series ot' communicating apertures, d', in the other, so that the bees may pass from one box to the other, or the said communication may be cut oli at will. It will be observed that I arrange these slides in the lower part of the boxes, the object heilig to prevent the bees from sealing up the edges otl the slides, and

openings and slides were placed higher up, the bees would soon seal said slides with wax; but by arranging the slides and openings in the lower part ot' the boxes this diticulty is overtures when they are so low down, and thus a free communication between the homesteads or boxes C U is always maintained.

J are glasses set in the backs of the boxes to facilitate the inspection thereof. The bottoms ot' the boxes are made removable at pleasure.

The boxes C C may beseparately drawn out from the hive by means ofthe ring lL. the communicating slides I I having first been closed.

The spare honey-boxes are arranged upon the upper door, K, above the tops ot' the boxes C C. L L are the said spare honey-boxes, which fill the space above the boxes U C, and the top ot' the hive, as shown. The bottoms ot' the boxes L L consist of loose plates, as shown at e. At the front part ot' the bottoms e e there is a vertical aperture, f, leading down through the iioor K K and the top ofthe boxes C C', as shown, so that thereis a communication between each box G, and the spare honeybox L above it, through which the bees pass, but there is no direct communication between the boxes L L. The front end of each honeythe front of the hive a-nd terminating upon an alighting-board, M, which is hooded, and the hood is provided with a movable ilap and hinged guards H', similar to the corresponding parts before described in connection with the lower alighting-board.

N N are adjustable slides passing from the alighting-board M, through the apertures j", and intended to cover at will the vertical thus prevent their operations. If the said come, because the bees will not seal the aperbox also has an aperture, f', extending through 2 r f v 45,3%

apertures j', so that when desired the entrance ol'the bees into the honey-boxes from the boxes C O may be easily prevented.

I do not claim the motlrbox nor the niovable flaps, but

lHaving thus described my invention, I claim- Tue arrangement and construction of the en trance and connecting passages in the double hive, as described, consisting of the guarded i entrances, the connecting-passage consisting of L slot and a series of holes in the adjacent i l sides, respectivelnnd closed by u slide, t0-

gether with the auxiliary entrances f andthe passages f from the brood-chambers to the honey-boxes, the Whole forming a means of communication from the Outside, und from one part to another, to loe used as circumstances require, substantially as described and represented.

HENRY STUMP. Witnesses:

v J oI-IN WARFoRD,

COLE NOEL. 

